Ceramic carrier and build up carrier for light-emitting diode (led) array

ABSTRACT

Circuit boards, LED lighting systems and methods of manufacture are described. A circuit board includes a ceramic carrier and a body on the ceramic carrier. The body includes dielectric layers and slots formed completely through a thickness of the dielectric layers. The slots are filled with a dielectric material. A conductive pad is provided on a surface of each of the slots opposite the ceramic carrier.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/809,104, filed Mar. 4, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/958,058, filed Jan. 7, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Precision control lighting applications may require production and manufacturing of small addressable light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems. The smaller size of such systems may require unconventional components and manufacturing processes.

SUMMARY

Circuit boards, LED lighting systems and methods of manufacture are described. A circuit board includes a ceramic carrier and a body on the ceramic carrier. The body includes dielectric layers and vias formed completely through a thickness of the dielectric layers. The vias are filled with a dielectric material. A conductive pad is provided on a surface of each of the slots opposite the ceramic carrier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding can be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an example LED array;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example circuit board;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an example LED lighting system that incorporates the circuit board of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example vehicle headlamp system that incorporates the LED lighting system of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of another example vehicle headlamp system;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example wireless device;

FIG. 7 is a back view of another example wireless device;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example method of manufacturing an LED lighting system, such as the LED lighting system of FIG. 3 ; and

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, 9H, 9I, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M, 9N, 9O, 9P and 9Q are cross sectional views of the LED lighting system at various stages in the manufacturing method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of different light illumination systems and/or light emitting diode (“LED”) implementations will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. These examples are not mutually exclusive, and features found in one example may be combined with features found in one or more other examples to achieve additional implementations. Accordingly, it will be understood that the examples shown in the accompanying drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and they are not intended to limit the disclosure in any way. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element and a second element may be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” may include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it may be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there may be no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element and/or connected or coupled to the other element via one or more intervening elements. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present between the element and the other element. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the element in addition to any orientation depicted in the figures.

Relative terms such as “below,” “above,” “upper,”, “lower,” “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.

Further, whether the LEDs, LED arrays, electrical components and/or electronic components are housed on one, two or more electronics boards may also depend on design constraints and/or application.

Semiconductor light emitting devices (LEDs) or optical power emitting devices, such as devices that emit ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) optical power, are among the most efficient light sources currently available. These devices (hereinafter “LEDs”), may include light emitting diodes, resonant cavity light emitting diodes, vertical cavity laser diodes, edge emitting lasers, or the like. Due to their compact size and lower power requirements, for example, LEDs may be attractive candidates for many different applications. For example, they may be used as light sources (e.g., flash lights and camera flashes) for hand-held battery-powered devices, such as cameras and cell phones. They may also be used, for example, for automotive lighting, heads up display (HUD) lighting, horticultural lighting, street lighting, torch for video, general illumination (e.g., home, shop, office and studio lighting, theater/stage lighting and architectural lighting), augmented reality (AR) lighting, virtual reality (VR) lighting, as back lights for displays, and IR spectroscopy. A single LED may provide light that is less bright than an incandescent light source, and, therefore, multi-junction devices or arrays of LEDs (such as monolithic LED arrays, micro LED arrays, etc.) may be used for applications where more brightness is desired or required.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an example LED array 102. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1 , the LED array 102 is an array of emitters 120. LED arrays may be used for any application, such as those requiring precision control of LED array emitters. Emitters 120 in the LED array 102 may be individually addressable or may be addressable in groups/subsets.

An exploded view of a 3×3 portion of the LED array 102 is also shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in the 3×3 portion exploded view, the LED array 102 may include emitters 120 that each have a width w₁. In embodiments, the width w₁ may be approximately 100 μm or less (e.g., 30 μm). Lanes 122 between the emitters 120 may be a width, w₂, wide. In embodiments, the width w₂ may be approximately 20 μm or less (e.g., 5 μm). The lanes 122 may provide an air gap between adjacent emitters or may contain other material. A distance di from the center of one emitter 120 to the center of an adjacent emitter 120 may be approximately 120 μm or less (e.g., 30 μm). It will be understood that the widths and distances provided herein are examples only and that actual widths and/or dimensions may vary.

It will be understood that, although rectangular emitters arranged in a symmetric matrix are shown in FIG. 1 , emitters of any shape and arrangement may be applied to the embodiments described herein. For example, the LED array 102 of FIG. 1 may include over 20,000 emitters in any applicable arrangement, such as a 200×100 matrix, a symmetric matrix, a non-symmetric matrix, or the like. It will also be understood that multiple sets of emitters, matrixes, and/or boards may be arranged in any applicable format to implement the embodiments described herein.

As mentioned above, LED arrays, such as the LED array 102, may include emitters that have fine pitch and line spacing. An LED array such as this may be referred to as a micro LED array or simply a micro LED. A micro LED may include an array of individual emitters provided on a substrate or may be a single silicon wafer or die divided into segments that form the emitters. The latter type of micro LED may be referred to as a monolithic LED. Additionally, such arrays may require significant power to power them, such as 60 watts or more, and, therefore, may emit significant heat duration operation. Accordingly, for such arrays, a circuit board is needed that can accommodate the fine line space and provide sufficient heat dissipation.

Embodiments described herein may provide for a circuit board, an LED lighting system incorporating the circuit board and methods of manufacture that may support an LED array with a fine line space and may provide sufficient heat dissipation to meet the heat requirements of such an LED array. Such LED arrays and LED lighting systems may be used in various applications, including, for example, camera flash and vehicle lighting system applications.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of a circuit board 200. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2 , the circuit board 200 includes a ceramic carrier 202. The ceramic carrier 202 may have a top surface 218 and a bottom surface 214. A body 212 is disposed on the top surface 218 of the ceramic carrier 202. The body 212 has a top surface 220 and a bottom surface 216, and the bottom surface 216 is disposed on the top surface 218 of the ceramic carrier 202. The body 212 may be formed from layers 204 of a dielectric material. A number vias 206 are formed through the layers 204 of the dielectric material. In embodiments, the vias are formed completely through a thickness (t₁) of the layers 204 of the dielectric material. The vias 206 may be filled and/or plated with a metal material. Where the vias are formed completely through the entire thickness of the layers 204 of the dielectric material, the metal in the vias 206 contacts the ceramic carrier 202. A metal pad 208 may be disposed on a surface of each of the vias 206 opposite the ceramic carrier 202.

The vias 206 may be arranged in pairs to enable contacting LED devices or emitters that each may include a pair of metal contacts. In embodiments, the vias 206 may be micro-vias or slots and may have a width w₃, and a space between adjacent pairs of vias may have a width w₄. In embodiments w₃ may be in a range of 50 μm to 200 μm, and w₄ may be in a range of 20 μm to 200 μm. The small widths of the vias 206 and the small spacing between pairs of the vias 206 may enable use of the circuit board 200 with an LED array, such as the LED array 100 of FIG. 1 , with fine line spacing.

The vias 206 may be filled and/or plated with a metal material that has good thermal conductivity. In embodiments, the metal material may be a copper, silver or nickel material. The ceramic carrier 202 may be formed from a material with high thermal conductivity and high electrical resistivity. In embodiments, the ceramic carrier 202 may be formed from Aluminum Nitride (AlN), Zirconia (ZrO₂) or Aluminum Oxide (Al₂O₃). The use of such a material for the ceramic carrier 202 enables the vias 206 to be used both to make electrical connections to the conductive pads 208 and also to dissipate heat from any LED array or semiconductor device mounted on the conductive pads 208. In other words, when the vias 206 are formed through the entire thickness of the layers 204 of the dielectric material, the vias 206 may dissipate heat from an LED array or other semiconductor device mounted on the metal pads 208 to the ceramic carrier 202, which may quickly dissipate the heat into the environment due to its high thermal conductivity. Further, because the ceramic carrier 202 has good electrical resistivity, it may prevent shorting of the vias 206 to each other.

As mentioned above, the body 212 may have a thickness t₁. In embodiments, the thickness t₁ may be in a range 20 μm to 50 μm. Thus, the thickness t₁ may be kept relatively thin to minimize the insulation contributed by the circuit board.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of an LED lighting system 300 that includes the circuit board 202 of FIG. 2 with an array of light-emitting diode (LED) devices 304 mounted thereon. While the example illustrated in FIG. 3 includes an array of individual LED devices 304, the embodiments described herein are applicable to any type of LED array, such as the LED array 102 of FIG. 1 , which may be an array of individual LED devices or a monolithic LED array that includes a single silicon wafer or die divided into segments that form the emitters. When a monolithic LED array is used, each of the emitters in the array may have a pair of metal contacts that may be electrically coupled to corresponding pairs of metal pads on the circuit board (e.g., via solder).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3 , each of the LED devices 304 includes a semiconductor structure 308, a wavelength converting layer 306 over the semiconductor structure 308 and two metal contacts 310 a and 310 b. The semiconductor structure may be any type of semiconductor structure that emits light when excited and may include one or more p-type regions, n-type regions and active, light-emitting regions. In embodiments, the two contacts 310 a and 310 b may be a p-type electrode and an n-type electrode, respectively. The wavelength converting layer 306 may be remote from, proximal to, or directly above the semiconductor structure 308. The active layer in the semiconductor structure 308 emits light into the wavelength converting layer 306 when turned on, and the wavelength converting layer 306 acts to further modify the wavelength of the light emitted by the active layer. The wavelength converting layer 306 may include any luminescent material, such as, for example, phosphor particles in a transparent or translucent binder or matrix, or a ceramic phosphor element, which absorbs light of one wavelength and emits light of a different wavelength.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3 , each of the pairs of contacts 310 a and 310 b of each of the LED devices 304 is electrically coupled (e.g., via solder) to a corresponding pair of the metal pads 208 on the circuit board 200. A soldermask layer 302 is provided on the top surface 220 of the circuit board 200 in areas that are not occupied by metal pads 208. In embodiments, the soldermask layer 302 may be any layer or type of material that protects the circuit board and/or reflects light.

As mentioned above, an LED lighting system, such as illustrated in FIG. 3 , may be used in a number of different applications, and may be particularly useful in vehicle headlamp systems and flash applications where closely packed LED arrays and/or individually addressable LED devices or emitters may be desirable. FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrams of example application systems that may incorporate LED lighting systems, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example vehicle headlamp system 400 that may incorporate an LED lighting system, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 . The example vehicle headlamp system 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes power lines 402, a data bus 404, an input filter and protection module 406, a bus transceiver 408, a sensor module 410, an LED direct current to direct current (DC/DC) module 412, a logic low-dropout (LDO) module 414, a micro-controller 416 and an active head lamp 418. In embodiments, the active head lamp 418 may include an LED lighting system, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 .

The power lines 402 may have inputs that receive power from a vehicle, and the data bus 404 may have inputs/outputs over which data may be exchanged between the vehicle and the vehicle headlamp system 400. For example, the vehicle headlamp system 400 may receive instructions from other locations in the vehicle, such as instructions to turn on turn signaling or turn on headlamps, and may send feedback to other locations in the vehicle if desired. The sensor module 410 may be communicatively coupled to the data bus 404 and may provide additional data to the vehicle headlamp system 400 or other locations in the vehicle related to, for example, environmental conditions (e.g., time of day, rain, fog, or ambient light levels), vehicle state (e.g., parked, in-motion, speed of motion, or direction of motion), and presence/position of other objects (e.g., vehicles or pedestrians). A headlamp controller that is separate from any vehicle controller communicatively coupled to the vehicle data bus may also be included in the vehicle headlamp system 400. In FIG. 4 , the headlamp controller may be a micro-controller, such as micro-controller (pc) 416. The micro-controller 416 may be communicatively coupled to the data bus 404.

The input filter and protection module 406 may be electrically coupled to the power lines 402 and may, for example, support various filters to reduce conducted emissions and provide power immunity. Additionally, the input filter and protection module 406 may provide electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, load-dump protection, alternator field decay protection, and/or reverse polarity protection.

The LED DC/DC module 412 may be coupled between the filter and protection module 406 and the active headlamp 418 to receive filtered power and provide a drive current to power LEDs in the LED array in the active headlamp 418. The LED DC/DC module 412 may have an input voltage between 7 and 18 volts with a nominal voltage of approximately 13.2 volts and an output voltage that may be slightly higher (e.g., 0.3 volts) than a maximum voltage for the LED array (e.g., as determined by factor or local calibration and operating condition adjustments due to load, temperature or other factors).

The logic LDO module 414 may be coupled to the input filter and protection module 406 to receive the filtered power. The logic LDO module 414 may also be coupled to the micro-controller 414 and the active headlamp 418 to provide power to the micro-controller 464 and/or the silicon backplane (e.g., CMOS logic) in the active headlamp 418.

The bus transceiver 408 may have, for example, a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) or serial peripheral interface (SPI) interface and may be coupled to the micro-controller 416. The micro-controller 416 may translate vehicle input based on, or including, data from the sensor module 410. The translated vehicle input may include a video signal that is transferrable to an image buffer in the active headlamp module 418. In addition, the micro-controller 416 may load default image frames and test for open/short pixels during startup. In embodiments, an SPI interface may load an image buffer in CMOS. Image frames may be full frame, differential or partial frames. Other features of micro-controller 416 may include control interface monitoring of CMOS status, including die temperature, as well as logic LDO output. In embodiments, LED DC/DC output may be dynamically controlled to minimize headroom. In addition to providing image frame data, other headlamp functions, such as complementary use in conjunction with side marker or turn signal lights, and/or activation of daytime running lights, may also be controlled.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of another example vehicle headlamp system 500. The example vehicle headlamp system 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes an application platform 502, two LED lighting systems 506 and 508, and optics 510 and 512. The two LED lighting systems 506 and 508 may be LED lighting systems, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 , or may include the LED lighting system 300 plus some of all of the other modules in the vehicle headlamp system 400 of FIG. 4 . In the latter embodiment, the LED lighting systems 506 and 508 may be vehicle headlamp sub-systems.

The LED lighting system 508 may emit light beams 514 (shown between arrows 514 a and 514 b in FIG. 5 ). The LED lighting system 506 may emit light beams 516 (shown between arrows 516 a and 516 b in FIG. 5 ). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , a secondary optic 510 is adjacent the LED lighting system 508, and the light emitted from the LED lighting system 508 passes through the secondary optic 510. Similarly, a secondary optic 512 is adjacent the LED lighting system 512, and the light emitted from the LED lighting system 512 passes through the secondary optic 512. In alternative embodiments, no secondary optics 510/512 are provided in the vehicle headlamp system.

Where included, the secondary optics 510/512 may be or include one or more light guides. The one or more light guides may be edge lit or may have an interior opening that defines an interior edge of the light guide. LED lighting systems 508 and 506 (or the active headlamp of a vehicle headlamp sub-system) may be inserted in the interior openings of the one or more light guides such that they inject light into the interior edge (interior opening light guide) or exterior edge (edge lit light guide) of the one or more light guides. In embodiments, the one or more light guides may shape the light emitted by the LED lighting systems 508 and 506 in a desired manner, such as, for example, with a gradient, a chamfered distribution, a narrow distribution, a wide distribution, or an angular distribution.

The application platform 502 may provide power and/or data to the LED lighting systems 506 and/or 508 via lines 504, which may include one or more or a portion of the power lines 402 and the data bus 404 of FIG. 4 . One or more sensors (which may be the sensors in the system 400 or other additional sensors) may be internal or external to the housing of the application platform 502. Alternatively or in addition, as shown in the example LED lighting system 400 of FIG. 4 , each LED lighting system 508 and 506 may include its own sensor module, connectivity and control module, power module, and/or LED array.

In embodiments, the vehicle headlamp system 500 may represent an automobile with steerable light beams where LEDs may be selectively activated to provide steerable light. For example, an array of LEDs (e.g., the LED array 102) may be used to define or project a shape or pattern or illuminate only selected sections of a roadway. In an example embodiment, infrared cameras or detector pixels within LED systems 506 and 508 may be sensors (e.g., similar to sensors in the sensor module 410 of FIG. 4 ) that identify portions of a scene (e.g., roadway or pedestrian crossing) that require illumination.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example wireless device 600. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6 , the wireless device 600 includes a processor 612, a transceiver 602, an antenna 604, a speaker/microphone 606, a keypad 608, a display/touchpad 610, a memory 616, a power source 618, and a camera 614.

The processor 612 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit, an integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 612 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 606, the keypad 608, the display/touchpad 610 and/or the camera 614. The processor 612 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 606, the keypad 608, the display/touchpad 610 and/or the camera 614. In addition, the processor 612 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the memory 616. The processor 612 may receive power from the power source 618 and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the wireless device 600.

The processor 612 may also be coupled to the camera 614. In embodiments, the camera 614 may include, for example, an image sensor, read out circuitry, a flash module and/or any other required circuitry or controls required to operate the camera 614. In embodiments, the flash module may include an LED lighting system, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 , and a driver, one or more sensors and/or any other circuitry or controls required to operate the flash.

FIG. 7 is a back view of a wireless device 700 showing more detail of the camera 614. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7 , the wireless device 700 includes a casing 720 and a camera 614. The camera 614 include a lens 740 via which the camera's image sensor (not shown in FIG. 7 ) may capture an image of a scene. The camera module 614 may also include a flash 750 that may include one or more LED arrays, which may be a part of one or more LED lighting systems, such the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example method 800 of manufacturing an LED lighting system, such as the LED lighting system 300 of FIG. 3 . FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, 9H, 9I, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M, 9N, 9O, 9P and 9Q are cross sectional views of the LED lighting system at various stages in the manufacturing method. In embodiments, a high density interconnect buildup process with finer geometries is used to build up dielectric layers on the ceramic carrier. Various dielectric materials may be used, such as, for example, organic materials, or, more specifically, a Bismaleimide Triazine (BT) resin. The ceramic carrier (e.g., AlN carrier) may be used as the backbone for the buildup process.

In the example method 800 of FIG. 8 , first metal pads are formed on a ceramic carrier (802), such as an AlN carrier, as described above. FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F and 9G provide example structures at various points in the formation of first metal pads.

In embodiments, the method may be used to simultaneously manufacture multiple circuit boards. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, two ceramic carriers 902 a and 902 b may be attached to one another using, for example, an adhesive 904 to form a structure 900A. In embodiments, the adhesive may be a tape or a temporary glue. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9A, the adhesive 904 is disposed between a first ceramic carrier 902 a and a second ceramic carrier 902 b. While the examples in FIGS. 9A-9Q illustrate simultaneous manufacture of multiple circuit boards, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a similar method may be used to manufacture a single circuit board (e.g., by not bonding two carriers and not performing processing on both carriers).

As shown in FIG. 9B, a layer of a metal material 906 a and 906 b may be formed on outer surfaces (e.g., the surfaces that are not bonded together) of the first and second carriers 902 a and 902 b. In embodiments, the metal layer may be formed by sputtering. For example, copper sputtering may be performed on the structure 900A to form a thin film of copper on the outer surfaces of the carriers 902 a and 902 b. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, however, that other methods and materials may be used to form the metal layer on the surfaces of the first and second carriers 902 a and 902 b.

As shown in FIG. 9C, a film 908 a and 908 b may be formed on each of the metal layers 906 a and 906 b to form a structure 900C. In embodiments, the film may be a dry film, such as a photoresist, formed using dry film lamination. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, however, that other methods, such as spin coating, may be used to form the film 908 a and 908 b on the surfaces of the metal layers 906 a and 906 b.

As shown in FIG. 9D, the structure 900C may undergo an imaging or photolithography process to remove portions of the film 908 a and 908 b to form openings in the film and form a structure 900D. In embodiments, this may be performed by placing a pattern 910 a and 910 b, such as a glass pattern, over the structure 900C and exposing the structure 900C to light (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) light) emitted through the pattern. This may result in the UV light impinging on portions of the film 908 a and 908 b that are desired to be removed or, alternatively, on portions of the film 908 a and 908 b that are not to be removed.

As shown in 9E, desired portions of the film 908 a and 908 b may be removed, for example, by applying a developer to the structure 900D. Different types of developers may be used. In embodiments, the portions of the film 908 a an 908 b that were exposed to the light in FIG. 9D may become soluble to the developer or the portions of the film 908 a and 908 b that were not exposed to the light in FIG. 9D may become soluble to the developer. Exposure of the structure 900D to the developer may result in the structure 900E with openings 911 a and 911 b formed in the film 908 a and 908 b. The openings 911 a and 911 b may form a portion of the vias 206 in the circuit board 200 of FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG. 9F, the openings 911 a and 911 b in the film 908 a and 908 b may be filled and/or plated with a metal material to form the structure 900F. In embodiments, the openings extend through the entirety of the film 908 a and 908 b and leave corresponding regions of the ceramic carriers 902 a and 902 b exposed. The openings 911 a and 911 b may be plated and/or otherwise filled with a metal material (e.g., copper) to form metal-plated and/or filled openings 912 a and 912 b.

As shown in FIG. 9G, the remaining portions of the film 908 a and 908 b and the portions of the metal layer 906 a and 906 b under them may be removed, and first metal pads 912 a and 912 b remain on the carriers 902 a and 902 b to form a structure 900G. This may be performed, for example, by stripping away the remaining portions of the film 908 a and 908 b and then performing copper or other metal etching on the portions of the metal layer 906 a and 906 b underneath. The resulting panel may then be ready for further build up processes.

Referring back to FIG. 8 , a layer of a dielectric material may be formed over the first metal pads (804). FIG. 9H provides an example structure 900H showing the layers of the dielectric material 914 a and 914 b formed over the first metal pads 912 a and 912 b. In embodiments, the dielectric material may be laminated over the first metal pads 912 a and 912 b, although one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other methods may be used, such as molding.

Vias may be formed in the dielectric material over the first metal pads (806). FIG. 9I provides an example structure 900I showing the vias 916 a and 916 b formed in the layers of the dielectric material 914 a and 914 b. In embodiments, the vias 916 a and 916 b may be micro-vias or slots and may be formed, for example, using laser ablation or drilling, although one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other methods may be used. The vias 916 a and 916 b may form another part of the vias 206 in the circuit board 200 of FIG. 2 . Combined, the openings 911 a and 911 b and the vias 916 a and 916 b may form the vias 206 formed through the entire thickness t₁ of the dielectric layers 204 in FIG. 2 .

The vias may be filled with a metal material (808). FIG. 9J illustrates an example structure 900J showing the vias 916 a and 916 b filled with a metal material 918 a and 918 b. In embodiments, the vias may be filled using copper plating, which may leave a layer of the metal material 918 a and 918 b on the outer-most surfaces of the dielectric material 914 a and 914 b and the vias 916 a and 916 b, as shown. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, however, that other techniques may be used to fill the vias 916 a and 916 b.

A second metal pad may be formed on each of the vias (810) to form, for example, metal pads on the outer-most surface of the circuit board. FIGS. 9K, 9L, 9M, 9N, 9O, 9P and 9Q provide example structures at various points in the formation of the second metal pads.

As shown in FIG. 9K, similar to the process described above with respect to FIG. 9C, a film 920 a and 920 b may be formed on outer-most surfaces of the structure 900J (e.g., over the metal 918 a and 918 b to form a structure 900K. In embodiments, the film may be a dry film, such as a photoresist, formed using dry film lamination. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand, however, that other methods, such as spin coating, may be used to form the film 920 a and 920 b.

As shown in FIG. 9L, the structure 900K may undergo an imaging or photolithography process to remove portions of the film 920 a and 920 b in regions between the vias 916 a and 916 b to form a structure 900L. In embodiments, this may be performed by placing a pattern 922 a and 922 b, such as a glass pattern, over the structure 900K and exposing the structure 900K to light (e.g., ultraviolet (UV) light) emitted through the pattern. This may result in the UV light impinging on portions of the film 920 a and 920 b that are desired to be removed or, alternatively, on portions of the film 920 a and 920 b that are not to be removed.

As shown in FIG. 9M, desired portions of the film 920 a and 920 b may be removed, for example, by applying a developer to the structure 900L. Different types of developers may be used. In embodiments, the portions of the film 920 a and 920 b that were exposed to the light in FIG. 9L may become soluble to the developer or the portions of the film 920 a and 920 b that were not exposed to the light in FIG. 9L may become soluble to the developer. Exposure of the structure 900L to the developer may result in the structure 900M with portions of the film 920 a and 920 b remaining over the vias 916 a and 916 b.

As shown in FIG. 9N, the portions of the metal layer 918 a and 918 b between the remaining portions of the film 920 a and 920 b may be removed to form a structure 900N. This may be performed, for example, by copper or other metal etching.

As shown in FIG. 9O, the remaining portions of the film 920 a and 920 b may be removed to form a structure 900O. This may be performed, for example, by stripping away the remaining portions of the film 920 a and 920 b.

As shown in FIG. 9P, the second metal pads 922 a and 922 b may be provided on each of the metal-filled vias 918 a and 918 b. In embodiments, this may be performed using NiAu plating, although one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other methods and/or metal materials may be used.

As shown in FIG. 9Q, in embodiments where two circuit boards are manufactured simultaneously, the two circuit boards may be separated. Only one of the separated circuit boards 900Q is shown in FIG. 9Q. The circuit board may then be ready for individual LED device or monolithic LED array attach by, for example, soldering metal pads of the individual LED devices or the monolithic array to the metal pads 922 a and/or 922 b of the circuit board.

Having described the embodiments in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, given the present description, modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system, the method comprising: forming a plurality of first metal pads on a ceramic carrier with spaces between each of the plurality of first metal pads; forming a layer of a dielectric material over the plurality of first metal pads and filling the spaces between each of the plurality of first metal pads; forming a plurality of vias in the layer of the dielectric material with a respective one of the plurality of vias formed over each of the plurality of first metal pads; filling the plurality of vias with a metal material; and forming a second metal pad over each of the plurality of vias.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adhering the ceramic carrier to another ceramic carrier, wherein the forming the plurality of first metal pads, the forming the layer of the dielectric material, the forming the plurality of vias, the filling the plurality of vias and the forming the second metal pad are performed on both the ceramic carrier and the other ceramic carrier.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising separating the ceramic carrier from the other carrier after the forming the plurality of first metal pads, the forming the layer of the dielectric material, the forming the plurality of vias, the filling the plurality of vias and the forming the second metal pad.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming the plurality of first metal pads comprises: forming a metal layer over the ceramic carrier; forming a photoresist layer over the metal layer; removing portions of the photoresist layer in regions corresponding to the first metal pads to form a plurality of cavities; filling the plurality of cavities with the metal material; and removing all remaining portions of the photoresist layer.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming the plurality of vias in the layer of the dielectric material comprises one of drilling and laser direct imaging to form a plurality of micro-vias or slots.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising soldering individual LED devices onto the second metals pads.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising soldering a monolithic LED array onto the second metal pads. 